The Rule of Three: Why Only Three Major Competitors Will Survive in Any Market - Hardcover

Sheth, Jagdish; Sisodia, Rajendra

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 074320560X ISBN 13: 9780743205603

Publisher: Free Press, 2002

Synopsis

Years in the making and sweeping in scope, this major work explains how in every industry three major players emerge to dominate the market, with the balance filled by specialist niche players, and how this determines business strategy. In an indispensable guide to predicting trends in mergers, competition and profitability, Jagdish Sheth and Rajendra Sisodia offer crucial insights for businesses large and small. Based on extensive studies of market forces, they show that the vast majority of industries follow a distinct pattern and ultimately fall under the influence of 'the rule of three.' Evidence suggests that three full-line, volume driven competitors eventually emerge to capture between seventy and ninety percent of a given market. Documenting how markets evolve into two complementary sectors, generalists, which cater to a large, mainstream group of customers at both the high and low ends of the market, and any company caught in the middle is likely to be swallowed up or destroyed. Sheth and Sisodia show how most markets resemble a shopping centre with specialty shops anchored by large stores. Drawing wisdom from these markets, THE RULE OF THREE offers counterintuitive insights, which inform suggested strategies for the 'Big 3' players, as well as for mid-sized companies that may want to mount a challenge and for specialists who want to flourish

About this title

Review:

George FisherRetired Chairman & CEO, Eastman Kodak CompanyThe authors bring together an impressive wealth of corporate market histories to present a valuable framework for thinking through corporate strategy. Identifying where a company is in this framework and laying one's strategies against the suggested rules for that position provides an extremely valuable, thought-provoking, and prescriptive tool for strategy development. If you can't clearly say that you are headed to be one of the three dominant generalist survivors in a market, or a strong product or market niche player, you will probably be in harm's way. Wherever you are, "The Rule of Three" will help you walk through the minefields and around the ditch.

About the Author:

Jagdish Sheth teaches at the Goizueta Business School of Emory University, where he is the Charles H. Hellstadt Proferssor of market strategy. He lives in Atlanta Georgia. Rajendra Sisodia is currently Trustee Professor of Marketing at Bentley College in Waltham Massachusetts. He lives in Lexinton, Massachussets.

About this edition

• Publisher: Free Press
• Publication date: 2002
• ISBN 10: 074320560X
• ISBN 13: 9780743205603
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 283